


No Man's Waters

by hollyblue2



Series: SPN One Word Bingo [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Minor Character Death, Touch-Starved, Treason, War, merfolk, merman!Dean, merman!cas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2019-10-29 01:55:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 21,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17798909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hollyblue2/pseuds/hollyblue2
Summary: When Castiel is cast out of his territory for disobeying orders for war, he’s left to perish in No Man’s Waters, the treacherous depth between the Garrison Territory and the Huntsman’s Territory. Nothing survives there, and Castiel is barely holding on to life when one of the Huntsmen Merfolk comes to his aid.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first WIP! It's very nearly finished (about 2 or 3 chapters left) so no fear of abandonment - I'll be updating every Friday (unless I absolutely cannot get to my laptop), I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Thank you to Serenity for beta'ing and to Sanne for getting me started with writing this fic!!

* * *

 

It’s Naomi who stands before him, a stern look on her face and a distinct lack of emotion behind her eyes, not even her tail twitches. “Your punishment is banishment to No Man’s Waters.” 

Castiel can’t stop the noise that leaves his throat, somewhere between a choke and a sob, he knew that banishment would be the punishment for his treason, but hearing it aloud fills him with a dread like he's never experienced. Castiel quickly reins himself in and resists fighting against the two merfolk holding him in place in front of Councilwoman Naomi. “One hundred years of banishment. There will be no return for you.”

Despite being warm-blooded, Castiel runs cold suddenly and shivers wrack his body all the way down to his tail. He does his best to hide his emotions but inside he’s a wreck. No Man’s Water is no place for merfolk - there’s no escape.  The soldiers who escort him there will make sure he has no way to return.

The grip on his upper arms tighten as he’s pulled backwards and out of sight of the Councilwoman. He’s being dragged from the room but before he crosses the threshold, Castiel uses all the strength as he can muster and forces the guards to turn him around. They grunt at the action, but Castiel holds firm against them. “Do I get to say goodbye to my brother?” he asks, keeping his voice level.

Naomi turns back towards him, and with a few flutters of her tail, she’s closer to him. Still, she doesn’t soften. Castiel expects her to decline his request but she sighs and he doesn’t miss how her eyes flicker towards the other council members in the chamber, one of them being her son. “You have ten minutes.”

Relief floods through Castiel. Ten minutes isn’t much and Gabriel is going to be angry, but at least Castiel will get to see him one last time before what is essentially his death sentence is carried out. He doesn’t bother to thank her,even though he’d disobeyed orders, Castiel would forever believe the actions he had taken were right.  He turns away and lets the guards lead him out to a smaller room.

He perches on the bench as the door closes and he’s alone again. Only days after his initial arrest, and he’s already been given his sentence. It hurts. There were others like him too, and yet, they’re still free. They’re not weak, they just know when to keep their mouths shut.

The war against the other territories for the sole purpose of gaining power is cruel and unnecessary. There has never been a threat, their territory is stable, thriving even with enough food to go around and an even population count. Yet, the King wants more for the sake of having it.

Their army is strong, Castiel knows that, he was part of it, and the King wants to flaunt them. Still, many of his kin have been killed, Castiel has even been wounded himself, in the early days, but it was the loss of his twin that had pulled him up short. Hannah had been beautiful, full of life. She hadn’t even been part of the Garrison, but through the fault of war had been killed, after one of her medical patients had gone rogue. Collateral damage, the King had told Castiel, when he’d been given the news. So Castiel had taken a stand, and the rest of his team alongside him.

Gabriel swims in a short time later, rushing him and wrapping his arms around him. It’s unexpected and Castiel is thrown against the wall. He expected anger, not this.

“You’re stupid. Stupid!” Gabriel hisses in his ear but it’s drowned out by the comfort of the hug. “Cassie, please,”

“There’s nothing to be done now,” Castiel replies quietly and hugs his brother back tightly. If they spend their last ten minutes like this then that will be fine by him.

“I can’t fault you for doing what you thought was right,”

“This war…” Castiel pulls back just a fraction. “It isn’t right, it’s killing us,”

“I know, for the love of Poseidon, I know,” Gabriel says, exasperated, tucking a finger under Castiel’s chin. He just looks at him with big hazel-gold eyes, the odd one out since the rest of their family had blue eyes. It feels invasive but Castiel lets it happen. Their time is nearly up, he can feel it.

Gabriel’s lips come to his forehead and rest there for a few seconds before he hears a mumbled, “I love you, little brother,” and emotion wells up inside him. This is it. This is really it.

Guards come to the door, barging in and swimming to them. Castiel recoils on instinct but allows them to take him, looking back at his brother until he can no longer see him. He goes lax in the hold of the guards.

The water becomes darker and colder the further they venture into No Man’s Waters. Despite being a creature of the sea, it feels uncomfortable to be so deep in the ocean, a nagging pressure in his ears and lungs. The guards taking him further down also seem to be twitchy. He  _ could  _ make a break for it, but he knows it won’t be worth it. The guards will alert the council members and there’d be a merhunt for him. A life on the swim isn’t a good one to lead. The ocean may be vast but there are only so many places to hide. And going ashore, that’s a different ball game altogether.

He feels one of the guards shiver and below Castiel finally sees what’s waiting for him. A shadowy reef tumbles into the depth of the darkness but there’s a glint from the last of the light against the chains he knows they’re going lock him into.

Castiel wants to struggle, instinct is telling him to, he doesn’t  _ want _ to die down here. He’ll be alone. He resists with all his might, closing his eyes against the darkness as each of his wrists are cuffed and then a larger band around his tail. Automatically, as the guards swim back, he tests the restraints and he knows he’s not going anywhere. He’d never break those chains in a thousand lifetimes.

The guards retreat and the ocean around him seems to feel colder as their silhouettes fade into the minimal light far above him. Castiel shivers violently, and the chains rattle against each other.

He’s alone. It’s dark. There is nothing here but himself.

Castiel cries out loudly, a great roar of anguish before slamming his eyes shut and curling his body up as much as he can. The tears he knows he’s shedding are lost to the ocean before they can even fall.

He’s in pain everywhere his stomach, his arms pulled into an awkward position where he’s curled up and his tail itching where the cuff catches against his delicate scales. But his heart hurts the most. He doesn’t want to hurt. He doesn’t deserve this.

For his crimes against war, he’s ended up here. In the darkest part of the ocean between territories that have barely even blinked an eye at one another. Castiel’s mind drifts, thinking about his sister and his brother. The three of them had been a riot growing up, their mother barely keeping up with them after their father left. They helped their mother with anything she needed, Castiel had been good at that, even if his brother wasn’t. He was more interested in studying but in the end it had turned out that had helped them all to find their way. Gabriel had landed himself on the pre-council in a position that brought their small family more wealth so that their mother didn’t have to live so frugally. It had made the last few years of her life comfortable, until she succumbed to an illness, for which there was no cure. 

The three of them had stuck together after that, looking after one another, Gabriel bringing in the money as Castiel trained with the Garrison and Hannah studied to be a doctor so that no one else had to go through what their mother did. So, when Hannah died, part of their mother died with her and it brought a sadness upon Castiel that he never expected to feel.

He’ll be next to die, Castiel realises. Gabriel will be alone and while he can hold his own, he hopes his brother won’t wait for him to come back. There’s no coming back from here. What Gabriel will do without him just hurts him to think about, he hopes that he doesn't get into his usual trouble, Castiel's no longer there to dig him out. 

He knows that Gabriel loves him and the memories of their last conversation come to mind, a lump forming in his throat as he begins to weep.

He sleeps as the last of the light disappears from above. Day one is over. Just forever to go.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the support on the first chapter! That means a lot to me!

Dean races through the water blindly. He doesn’t care where he’s going, he just needs to not be anywhere near the reef with the other hundred merfolk who are constantly hounding his father for hunting updates and the like.

He’s not usually one to run away from his problems, but every so often it gets the better of him and there’s not much else he can do but swim. He enjoys the open ocean, it’s cooler, with more freedom to just drift in the currents and see where it takes him.

If he gets yelled at for shirking his responsibilities when he gets back, then so be it. Being yelled at by his dad isn’t exactly a new thing.

The current he’s trailing through takes a cold turn and he shivers, stopping and looking around to see where he is. He’s drifted far enough off the reef that it’s just a bright speck in the distance. He expects the water to be cold, especially at this time of year, but something definitely feels odd.

Dean swims further out until he can see a deep expanse of a darker reef far below him, and he finally realises exactly where he is and where he probably shouldn’t be. He should get out of there, but curiosity is nibbling at his fin. Down below is a stretch of cold nothing, or so he’s been told. No Man’s Waters – where the good go to die, is what his father had said. The idea of innocent people down there makes him shiver but he draws closer regardless.

An odd pressure begins to etch into his head, making the quiet waters deafening. One solid flip of his tail and he’s drifting downwards. Every part of him is telling him to go back, but still, he goes downwards.

There’s a glint and Dean furrows his brow in confusion. His father had said there were merfolk down here, but he assumed it was scary fairy tales to stop the young from wandering too far off the reef without the rest of the hunting pack. Hardly anyone knows anything about this place, it's drowned in myth and folklore, different stories from different people meaning that the truth - if there even is one - has been lost as it's passed down. They never come this way, there’s never any fish for them, even in the summer, the waters are too cool here for anything to live.

He goes closer, pulled in by curiosity, maybe there’s something down there, maybe it’s something worthwhile. Maybe  _ someone _ is down there, though the thought of anything that would live down there is already giving him nightmares. It’s unlikely there’s someone down there, Dean tells himself, and with one last bold push forward he’s further down.

He certainly finds what was glinting in the low light. A set of chains. Attached to the chains, limp and unmoving, is a merman. He seems skinny, pale and his eyes are closed. Dean startles backwards. Nightmares it is. Finding a dead merman was not on his agenda for the day and this is going to haunt him for the rest of his life no matter how many times he tries to scrub his brain from it.

“Shit.”

The chained merman moves. For a moment, Dean assumes it’s just the water, moving the limp body around, but then the merman shifts again, his head just moving upwards very slightly. Then Dean is met with open eyes and a mouth that moves, but no words are coming out.

“Help.” The merman says and it’s quiet, almost an echo in the dead, cold water.

Dean doesn’t know how. The merman is chained up, and what if this man is chained up for a reason, he must have done something bad for him to be down here and who knows how long he’s been down here. Long enough that he’s wasting away, but not enough time for him to die.

“I can’t,” Dean tells him and the man just nods once, very slowly, before closing his eyes again in defeat.

Guilt floods through Dean. He should help him – kindness is the key to life, he’s sure his brother quoted that to him once - where he got it from he doesn’t know - but it’s the only thing that’s ringing in Dean’s head. It’s overpowering every other urge telling him to flee and forget everything that he’s seen here.

Dean looks around, there are no loose rocks, nothing strong enough to break the chain. Slowly, he reaches out to the merman’s hand, taking a look at the wrist cuffs carefully. Dean lifts it into what little light there is. There are a couple of odd markings around the cuff that he’s never seen before, but other than that it looks like a standard lock.

He’s suddenly glad for his mischievous youth, because he’s broken into a lock or two just like this and he smirks a little. Dean takes the merman’s hand, trying to comfort him and the merman holds on to it for dear life. “I’ll be back,” Dean tells him and goes to leave.

“Please.” It’s barely a whisper but there’s so much unsaid in the word that Dean turns back, but still tugs his hand out of the weak grip.

“I promise,” he assures him, and even though leaving the merman is the hardest thing he’s done in a long time, Dean swims away.

All he needs is a few tools from his hunting pack and he can be back in a short amount of time. He just hopes the man isn’t on the edge of death, and that he has time to go back and get what he needs.

The way back is quicker and Dean dashes into his bed space, hoping that no one has spotted him come back. He needs to go back as soon as he can.

“Dean!” He flinches as his father’s voice ripples through to his door. “Get your kit together, word is there are vampire squid a couple of miles over to the next reef. Urgent case, four dead already.” Dean knows how deadly vampire squid can be, they seem to enjoy draining merfolk of their blood and often don't leave much behind. Four dead already means this one is killing for the sake of it which is worrisome.

His father appears at his door just as he’s grabbing a small sack to stash the picking tools in. “What are you doing?”

“Looking for something that should be in my to-go pack,” Dean lies. The falsehood rolls lightly off his tongue, but sits heavy in his gut.

His father’s frown deepens and shame falls over Dean. “Your to-go pack needs to be ready, Dean, let’s go.”

Dean doesn’t have a choice to but to follow his father out of the room. Already, there are four other hunters waiting for them and they all look disgruntled. With a quick glance over his shoulder in the direction of the open waters, Dean follows the rest of the group, swinging his pack over his shoulder.

Between the lives of merfolk on a reef, and a single merman in No Man’s Waters, Dean knows he has to make a decision. Stay with the hunters and see the hunt through - possibly saving the lives of many merfolk - or slope away to rescue the merman that he knows is in dire need. There’s six of them on the hunt, he doubts he’ll be needed, but his absence will be noticed. Perhaps the consequences will be worth it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness, it's been a Long™ week but I am glad it's Friday, not only do I get to throw a new chapter at you, but it's also the weekend! Enjoy the chapter and your weekend!
> 
> Thank you, once again, to Serenity (@galaxystiel) for being my amazing beta ♥
> 
>  
> 
> p.s. the bubbles are back!

The cold has been niggling at Castiel since the beginning, but the darkness and the isolation is what eats at him most. Even the fact he hasn’t eaten a single morsel in months has filtered to the back of his mind as no more than an awareness. Merfolk should eat regularly, of course, but going a month without food is no hard bargain – winter times when the water is colder isn’t the best time for hunting fish to eat, and certainly not enough fish to go around. Soldiers like him were often the first to get fed, but most of them chose to share their food with those who wouldn’t get any.

Never before though, has he lasted as long as this. Castiel can’t tell quite how long he’s been down here but the seasons have changed, the waters have become colder and the small patch of light no longer lasts as long.

He’s been given a glimmer of hope, one that he’s still trying to convince himself is real and not a hallucination. But he’d felt the other merman’s hand on his, had seen his eyes, had heard his voice, soft, lilting. The first voice he’d heard since he’d been down here that wasn’t the sound of his own screaming.

_ I promise _ , the words repeat in his head like a mantra. He’s coming back. He’s coming back and Castiel is getting out of here.

Castiel has spent his time bouncing between knowing he’d been wrongly ostracised and coming to terms with the fact that he’d rebelled against the council and this was his punishment that he deserved. It hurts most days, whether he likes it or not; both physically from the cuffs chafing his wrists and catching his scales, and emotionally too.

He misses Gabriel the most, although the merfolk who’d stood beside him had been important too. He sags in the restraints, his body feeling heavy and weary. Today had been a lot of effort, emotion and strength as the man had found him and now all he wanted to do was sleep.

The merman would be back soon, he  _ promised _ , and Castiel hopes that by the time he wakes up, he’ll be free.  

When Castiel wakes up, it’s dark, and he’s still chained up. “No…” his voice croaks. The man isn’t here and it’s already dark which means he has been gone hours. Castiel tries not to panic, he doesn’t know how far the merman had to travel so there’s no telling when he’d be back. Despite his sense of time being innate, since his time in No Man’s Waters, Castiel has found it harder and harder to keep track of the hours. The night blurs into the slow dawn and Castiel resigns himself to the knowledge that no one is coming for him.

Perhaps, after all, it had been a hallucination. No one goes through No Man’s Waters, let alone all the way down here. He’s hungry, he’s isolated and clearly delirious. The merman had been beautiful, and there’s no way someone like that would have found him.

The fight in his own head leaves him exhausted, which has been a constant battle in its own right. He sleeps again, chains digging into his already sore wrists. Perhaps he should just give up. He has to eventually.

Waking up is the hardest part. Castiel often dreams of being back home, where the waters are warmer and there’s food to go around. He dreams of his brother training him up when he was smaller, when Gabriel was just old enough to join the Garrison, being chased by him and then trying to wrestle his way out of his grip. He’d always won, until he was older and they both took the scrapping more seriously, sparring with one another. There’d been more than a few bumps and bruises and even before their mother got sick and Hannah had taken an interest in healing, she’d always been there to patch them up with a fond shake of her head.

Hannah’s voice rings clear in his head as his eyes open, “Boys will be boys,” she was saying but Castiel, even on waking, remembers coherently that Hannah was more than capable of fending them both off in a fight.

Any attempt at coherency is disregarded when he looks up. He’s pretty sure it’s still dark which means he’s either slept very little or an entire day. There’s something touching him, he’s pretty sure, but he can’t focus enough to concentrate and just tries his best to dislodge whatever it is. Through half-lidded eyes, he guesses it’s just seaweed, but it doesn’t stop, pulling at him. Then there’s a noise in his ear, whispering, even though the voice rings out like shouting.

He opens his eyes fully, unfocused on everything except for the trail of bubbles he’s so often seen fizzing up from the dark coral below him. There’s still the incessant noise in his ear, but the sound of his own mind is drowning it out.

“Shut up!” Castiel cries, wishing the noise would just stop, but then he feels a pressure at his wrist, harsh and painful, but then the pain stops and the weights slip away as the shackles click open. He lethargically pulls his arm in close, wrapping it around his stomach like he hasn’t been able to in so long, his other arm is freed and he has them both tucked close. He doesn't have the energy to move and wonders who unlocked him, perhaps one of his own tribe, or something more sinister ready to take him away. 

A presence wraps around him, engulfing him into complete darkness and he fights, or tries to. He can barely bat a hand away before there’s the voice in his ear again. This time he knows to focus on it.

“… fighting me, come on, just hold still,” that voice. He knows that voice, he remembers it from his dream. No, he remembers it from before, it’s the same voice: kind, lilting, demanding. He’s being saved. His tail is set free and Castiel breaks away from the wall, tumbling into the other merman’s arms. He barely even gets a glance at his rescuer before exhaustion overcomes him, and he’s plunged back into a dreamless darkness.

Castiel wakes up confused, though he’s not surprised by that. He’s more surprised that he’s somewhere so bright, last he remembers, No Man's Water's had very little light. The next thing he registers is that most of the pain has gone and he has control over his own limbs again. He blinks, craning his neck and looking around, the room he’s in isn’t big, looks no more than his bunk space where he used to live. He spots two merfolk in the room but neither of them has noticed that he's awake just yet.

“You’re gonna have to tell your father about this,” the woman says sternly to the merman who’s hovering nervously. Castiel frowns as he sees the man shrink in on himself.

“He’s already gonna kill me for leaving them on a hunt.”

Castiel sits up, slowly, easing his aching body into the new position. 

The woman reaches out a hand and pats the merman on the shoulder before giving him a tight smile. She glances towards Castiel, absently. “He’s awake,” she announces, and the merman turns around, a small smile on his face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So apparently yesterday was Friday... I apologise
> 
> I went to see the midnight release of Captain Marvel (which is amazing!!!!) and my hours and days got messed up aha, but here we go! It's probably still Friday somewhere in the world ;)

Dean feels relief when Missouri tells him the merman is awake. He swims to him and tries not to feel hurt when he sees him recoil away from him. Slowing down, he approaches carefully.

“I’m Dean,” he says with a friendly smile and a nod.

The other merman looks up with wide eyes, in the light he can see just how underfed he is and how pale he looks. It’s going to be a while before he’s back to full strength but he hopes that it’s quick.

“This is the Huntsmen territory, you’re not from around here are you? You got a name?”

“Cas—” his voice is grumbly and low.

“Cas?”

“Castiel,” he corrects and Dean smiles.

“From the Garrison?” he asks, though soon regrets his asking when Cas’ face darkens and he looks away as if he’s ashamed.

“I’d... like to sleep,” he says, voice much steadier.

“Alright,” he agrees. “Though if you sleep for too long I’m taking you up to the surface to get you some proper food to fill you up. Ain’t much out there this time of year and you look like you need some feeding,” Dean realises that Castiel has his eyes closed, curled up in a ball and he’s sure he hasn’t even heard a word of what he’s he just said.

Castiel doesn’t wake for hours. Missouri comes in and checks on him a few times but only leaves with a frown on her face. It  _ must _ be okay if she hasn’t said anything yet. Right?

Unfortunately, in the time Castiel is recuperating, Dean’s left to think about how he’s going to explain this to his dad. Not only did he go into No Man’s Waters and find and strange merman from another territory, but he left his father and the other huntsmen without explanation, slinking to the back of the pack before finding a good time to leave.

He feels guilty, but he’s saved this merman. That should count for something.

The four others are capable enough to handle the monster, hell, half of them have been hunting longer than himself. Still, the repercussions aren’t going to be pleasant, he knows that much. Last time he failed to follow orders his father hadn’t spoken to him for days, banned him from hunts for months and put him through extra gruelling training until he’d learnt his lesson.

This isn’t going to come out pretty, that’s for sure. An unpleasant knot forms in Dean’s stomach but looking over to Castiel seems to waiver the tension just a little. The merman looks peaceful, though Dean reckons he’s anything but. He makes him curious, a different kind of feeling in his stomach that has him moving forward until he’s perching on the edge of the bed. Castiel doesn’t move, doesn’t even flinch as Dean touches him, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead. He sweeps a lock of hair from face and thumbs over a small scar. It looks old, possibly from childhood, it’s not like it’s unusual for children to get into scrapes.

Missouri pokes her head around the door frame, her dark hair flowing around her and her dark purple tail flicking with concern. When Dean looks at her, the frown is back, “you best be taking that boy up to see Ellen, honey,” she says, sternly. There’s no room for argument, and Dean’s not going to. Going to the surface gets him away from explaining to his father too.

Dean quickly gathers his pack and then shuffles Castiel into his arms, he’s limp and awkward, but it’s only a few hours to get to the safe landing point for the surface.

There’s a quiet cove perfect for the times they need to go to the surface and Dean swims with Castiel until he needs to drag him onto the beach. He leaves him hovering in the water on his own, and swims the short distance to the surface, breathing out as much as he can before he leaves the water to breathe the air.

He needs to brace himself for that moment where it will feel like he’s choking, when he needs to get control over his lungs and stop the panic before it takes over. Poseidon knows how he’s going to get Castiel to do the same without him being conscious.

Dean breaks through the surface, treading water and taking deep purposeful breaths to steady his oxygen intake, it’s a shock to the system, it always is but having done it more times than most it’s something he’s prepared for. Slowly, as the topside air runs its course through him, his once dark grey-green tail ripples away until a pair of somewhat pale legs are in its place. It’s an odd feeling when he spends the majority of his time with his tail as a limb; Dean checks his movements, wiggling his toes and kicking his legs to stay afloat before dipping his head back below the surface.

Castiel is still there, having sunk to the sandy seafloor, and is still unconscious. Dean wonders for a moment, trying to work out the best way to get Castiel to the surface. He won’t be able to breathe out on his own and he’ll choke without doing so, maybe he can risk it.

Dean, himself, survived the first time he came to the surface, having greatly mistimed absolutely everything about breathing the air above the water.

He takes a deep breath, not wanting to shift back to his merman state, and dives down to retrieve Castiel from the bottom of the sea. It’s only a metres or so but without his tail, Dean’s strength is lessened and it’s hard work dragging the merman close to the surface.  

With Castiel in his arms, all he can do now is hope that some kind of instinct kicks in for Cas’ gills to close off and for his lungs to draw in the air they need. Dean kicks his legs, bringing them both to the surface. He pushes Castiel’s head above the surface, watching as his gills flex and draw before shutting closed against his neck. His mouth falls open and Dean puts one hand against his chest and waits for him to take a breath. It’s a tense moment but then Castiel is coughing, so Dean twists him over so the water can escape without too much drama and he moves them where he can touch the bottom of the sea.

Once his footing is on solid ground, he’s able to make sure Castiel is breathing okay and then drags him onto the beach, a limp merman is too heavy to carry, especially when he’s still got his sea legs, it might take a couple of hours for his legs to get used to walking around.

The small beach hut that has been here since before he was born is tucked away in one corner of the cove, it’s been made from driftwood, and has been repaired over the years. Some bits are lighter than others where it’s been bleached by the California sun over the years and the door is in need of repair which Dean notes when he opens it.

Inside the space is cramped with a skinny camp bed pushed to one side with only a few towels as sheets, a small charcoal stove is stacked on top of a unit with tins of beans, soup and fish stacked underneath. He doesn’t drag Castiel across the driftwood floor, it’s bad enough he’s barefoot, and instead pulls on a pair of shorts before hoisting Castiel up into his arms and then onto the bed. He was right in thinking Castiel would be heavy and already his legs feel used and weakened from the effort.

With one last check over Castiel, Dean rifles through the three drawers in the unit, finding a t-shirt for himself and a shirt and shorts for Castiel too before dressing the merman. The satellite phone with Ellen’s number pre-programmed in is sat next to the phone and he rings through, heading outside to ask her to come and get them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support so far! I'm glad people are enjoying this, it means a lot to me! 
> 
> Beta'd by the wonderful Serenity (@galaxystiel) :D

There are eyes everywhere, unsettling and making his skin crawl, like electric eels wrapping their lithe bodies around his torso and neck. He shudders, keeping his eyes on Naomi. She doesn’t look right but he can’t work out why, but she reads his sentence over and over and over again. It hurts.

Gabriel flickers in front of him, dazzling in and out like the sunlight against the reef despite the darkness of the room. He’s disappointed, angry, hurt - but Castiel has to remain stoic, he can’t show them that they’re harming him.

Banishment to No Man’s Waters might mean the end of his life, but he hopes that in his stead someone else will take a stand, and convince the right people that the war is wrong and that it needs to stop. Except his friends, the ones who stood beside him – Balthazar, Inias, Ishim, Ezekiel – they’re all stood in front of him, eyes hardened, glaring and accusing.

“You did this to us!” They yell.

“Your punishment is banishment to No Man’s Waters… Your punishment is banishment to No Man’s Waters… Your punishment… punishment,” her eyes got harder, more aggressive, and closer. “Your punishment!”

Castiel woke.

“Hey there,” Castiel’s eyes darted to the voice. It… sounded different, clearer somehow.

“Where—?” Castiel’s voice wasn’t right, he narrows his eyes, looking around and blinking away the sleep. He’s no longer underwater. “The sea?”

“Uh, yeah – had to bring you to the surface. Ellen’s down stairs making you some broth, you ain’t been eating for ages and you needed more than pulverised fish to survive whatever was going on with you. You’re looking better though,” the man says, though he looks suspiciously like the man who’d come for him in No Man’s Waters. A human twin brother perhaps? Or…

Castiel sits up abruptly, head swimming, and flips the cover from him. Legs. He has legs. Human legs.

“Please don’t freak out. It’s normal. I’m guessing you’ve never been to the surface before.”

The surface is no place for a merman, it’s full of poisons and otherworldly creatures more than he even wants to imagine.

“Ellen!” the stranger yells and Castiel startles, it’s so _loud_.

A woman comes rushing into the room, hair messy and an apron wrapped haphazardly around her waist, covered in varying stains.

“He’s freaking out.”

“Relax, boy, of course he’s freaking out – that Garrison lot don’t come to the surface.” Ellen comes towards him and he shuffles backwards. She puts her hands up as if to prove that she means no harm. “Settle down, Castiel, the name’s Ellen, Dean brought you here because you needed to heal.”

“I was fine.”

“You slept for eight days straight,” Dean interjects. Castiel looks over to him, leaning against a wooden case full of slim bindings. He doesn’t know how to respond to that. Eight days isn’t normal by any stretch, especially when he included all the months he’d been in and out of consciousness before Dean found him.

“Oh.”

“We just needed to look after you, somewhere safe, with more substantial food. Winter time isn’t great for fishing, not where either of us live, so this was our only option. As soon as you’re back on your feet—” Castiel looks down, flexing the new limbs, “We’ll go back to where I live and sort out what’s going to happen. I’m guessing that you can’t go home.”

Home.

An ache in Castiel’s chest emerges and he shakes his head. “I can never go home,” he explains sadly. Perhaps he should tell Dean why, but right now the bubble of hurt in his chest is too much. Salty water leaks from his eyes and he lets out an unexpected sob.

Balling his fists tightly, his entire body is tense as he tries to rein in his emotions. He sniffs hard, the action foreign to his body but it seems to work to clear away the majority of the hurt.

“I’m sorry. We’ll work something out,” Dean says, and Castiel tries to give him a half smile but he’s not sure he quite manages it.

The soup Ellen makes is tasty. He eats it slowly, knowing full well that eating too much too fast won’t do his body any favours. There are small round balls of green and longer pieces of orange with chunks of tender cooked fish, a thick, salty broth surrounds it and all of the new flavours hit Castiel all at once in a delicious miasma of perfection.

Afterwards, despite wanting to stay awake longer, he finds himself drifting off. Dean comes through to the room with a blanket and a glass of water. Castiel drinks it down in one go, thirstier than he expected.

“Sleep if you need to, it might take a little while for you to get back to normal. When you wake up we’ll go for a walk, get you used to using your new legs. Sound good?”

“Yes, I think so,” Castiel replies, and it does sound good. Despite the ache in his heart and in his bones, a walk does sound good. Right after he’s slept again.

****  


Castiel wakes up slowly to the sound of hushed voices and the smell of the soup he ate earlier. His stomach rumbles and he subconsciously licks his lips. Some more of that soup would go down well,  he needs his strength if he’s going to go for a walk with his new legs. When he sits up, both Dean and Ellen turn to look at him and he pokes his thigh with a grimace, wondering if his legs will even hold him up.

“Y’alright there, champ?” Ellen asks, and Castiel just nods. He’ll manage, and if he doesn’t then he’ll fall and that will be another new experience for him.

With a deep breath, Castiel stands up. He’s straight on his feet, feeling a little wobbly, but he’s standing - much better than being on the floor.

“What do you think?” Castiel asks, a small smile on his face. This smile is real.

He watches Dean and Ellen’s reactions, and where Dean turns his body away from him but offers a small smile, Ellen walks to him, arms open and offers to help him take a few steps forward. When he does, it’s strange but instinctive, and gets easier as he takes more and more steps until he’s walking back and forth across the room with an ease he’d never have imagined.

“Easier than I thought.”

“You’re doing great! So, how about that walk?”

“Where are we going?”

“We can take a walk back down to the beach, it’s not that far. Getting you up and moving about is the next step, maybe we can talk about what we can do once you’re healed up too.” Castiel’s stomach turns queasy at that, and it must show on his face as Dean quickly adds, “Or we can save that for another day,”

“I would like that,” Castiel says. “I know I need to talk about it, but it’s still fresh in my mind, even though I’d been in No Man’s Waters since the middle of Fall. I—” he falters, sitting back down on the bed.

“I ain’t gonna make you talk, Cas, this is your drama.”

“Thank you,” Dean nods his head in the direction of the door and Castiel follows him out, taking in the space outside the small bedroom. There’s a couple of photographs, and Castiel recognises Ellen and Dean in several of them.

Dean’s certainly an interesting man, he seems so _human_ and yet, he was clearly a merman when he came to his rescue. His people… the people he used to be with, just never considered going to the surface, never had need or matter to go there. It was a stark difference between them: Castiel was raised in the ocean, whereas Dean has been raised in both worlds, clearly loved by Ellen and by that other woman he never got the name of. Castiel hopes to meet her again, though, she seemed friendly.

While they walk he’ll be able to discover more about Dean and about the world above the sea.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for not getting to replying to all the comments yet, I'm working on it! I'm just gonna say that I appreciate each and every one of them! ♥
> 
> Beta'd by Serenity!! ♥ (I'm slowly getting there with my dialogue punctuation!!)

It wasn’t that Dean hadn’t noticed before, it was simply that it never occurred to him to really think about it when he was dragging Castiel’s unconscious body to his home and then up to the surface. Now the colour had returned to Castiel's cheeks, the nutrients from the soup giving him both extra energy and putting some weight back on Castiel's frail body, Dean had a better idea of what the merman looked like before - and he was extremely handsome. 

He led him down the stairs, avoiding the busy minglings of the Roadhouse and out onto the street. It was warm out, even though it was midwinter, pleasant enough to just be in a shirt and shorts. Castiel seems busy looking around at everything and Dean tries to remember that a lot of this is new to him. Dean doesn’t miss Castiel’s flinch when an ambulance goes past with its siren, or when a man calls over his friend. He watches him carefully as he’s fascinated by the different smells and the goings on around him. He’s glad that it’s early morning and that nothing is in full swing just yet as it all seems understandably overwhelming already.

Just as they begin walking, Castiel turns to him, a pensive look on his face. “You’re in a lot of the pictures in the house.” It’s more of a statement than anything but Dean can work out what he really means.

“Yeah – I did a fair bit of growing up here,” Dean tells him. He’d spent a lot of his childhood in the cove with his brother, Sammy, and his dad. Ellen had been a great help in teaching them about the surface world and they’d come to love it so much, they spent a lot of their free time up there - when they weren’t training to become huntsmen. “Ellen’s like family. She’s got a daughter, Jo, who’s totally human and she’s like a sister to me and Sam, ace swimmer too.”

“And the human thing?”

“Doesn’t bother me,” Dean tells him straight, and while he guesses Cas should be okay with it too, he should ask him. “What about you?”

“It’s new.” That’s fair.

The beach road comes into view but they keep their pace steady. “You ever think about coming up to the surface?”

“I grew up being told that the surface world was a vile and polluted place to be, full of unimaginable creatures of disgust,” Castiel tells him, though the bitter tone in his voice tells him that his own assessment is different.

“That’s…a pretty strong opinion.”

“From what I’ve seen, they’re pretty unfounded.” The smile he gets from Castiel is pure and infectious, and Dean smiles too, nudging Castiel on the arm when the sandy beach is nearly upon them. “It looks different up here, the water is cooler, fresh.”

“Yeah,” Dean flexes his toes in the water, watching as the wet sand washes off them before digging them back down in the sand. To his right, he spots a small hermit crab scuttle across the wave line and it disappears under a rock as a wave washes across.

A silence falls between them and Dean doesn’t bother to fill it, half-hoping that Castiel will open up a little.

He does, eventually, and Dean catches his head turn out of the corner of his eye. Even so, Dean doesn’t look at him, afraid to put him off.

“I was on trial for war crimes,” Castiel states.

It’s a bigger bombshell than Dean expects, even though he’d been preparing himself for something huge - being chained down in No Man’s Waters is a pretty big deal, not a punishment for small wrongdoings - but war crimes? That’s a big thing.

“Oh?”

“The charges were unfair – the Garrison is trying to take over the reefs close to us and the council are after more resources to pool together and share out. Unfortunately for them, none of the other reefs agreed during their meeting. As a soldier of the Garrison army, I didn’t have much choice but to obey the orders of the commanders, so we went along with it. We ransacked and we laid siege. We took so much, and we lost so much more, and it had to stop. It was ruthless.” Dean hears Castiel let out a harsh breath and he looks over to him. He can see his brow furrowed in anger and disgust, and his entire body is tense.

Slowly, Dean reaches out, a hand to Castiel’s elbow and he’s glad to see such a sudden change in his demeanour from the contact. Castiel’s shoulders relax, his brow loosens and his gaze turns to him easily. A gentle smile plays at Castiel’s lips but Dean can see it's just for him, trying to look positive.

“I’m sorry.”

“I don’t think there’s anything to apologise for. We’ve heard what happened to the smaller reefs by your Garrison, though,” Dean says and then asks, “there are others? Who felt like you did?”

“Yes. They had the sense to keep quiet whereas I did not and got myself sentenced for it.”

“No Man’s Waters.”

Castiel nods. “A hundred years – would have surpassed my lifespan and I wouldn’t have made it through winter if you hadn’t found me. Thank you, by the way, I’m not sure I’ve actually said that yet.”

“My pleasure.” Dean gives Castiel an easy smile. The merman is captivating and he can’t help but stare.

His eyes are bluer than the ocean itself and with his slow recovery, his skin looks flushed and a little tanned like he’s been sitting in the oceanic sunspots. His muscles look more pronounced and Dean knows that when he gets back to swimming and training like he imagines Cas used to, his muscles will look even better.

Dean almost sways on his feet, his heart beating in an arrhythmic pattern of hard and slow and it’s a sensation he’s never really felt before - but he knows exactly what it is, and he knows that he needs to ignore it. 

So, naturally, Dean turns to Castiel, a hand still laying gently on the man’s arm, and a steady beat of nervousness thrumming through his veins. He smiles through it and says, “Walk with me?” as his hand slips down into Castiel’s.

Castiel agrees, and their joined hands go unspoken as they turn along the shoreline and head further up the beach. Dean knows it will eventually get busier, but he expects Castiel will tire and they’ll turn back before then. His stamina so far has been amazing and Dean will have to remember to praise him for it later. A few more bowls of Ellen’s soup and Dean reckons Cas will be firmly on his way back to full health. Part of him wishes that it would take longer, then maybe,  _ just maybe _ he and Cas could get to know each other a little more before the merman no doubt will leave and put his fin down and tell the Garrison exactly how corrupt they are.

The image Dean creates of Castiel standing before his Council makes his gut stir pleasantly and he smiles, keeping his eyes on the beach ahead of him.

“What are you thinking about?” Castiel asks, and Dean stutters for a moment at having been caught.

His response is truthful, though. “You, kicking your council’s asses when you go back.”

“If,” Castiel corrects, his shoulders sagging and hand dropping from Dean’s.

“You don’t know if you’re going to go back?” Dean tries not to sound accusing, or like he’s rushing him, but the look he gets from Cas – deep frown and mouth pinched shut – suggests otherwise. “Sorry, that’s not what I meant. Cas, you  _ deserve _ justice, what they’re doing to the other reefs isn’t okay.”

“I know,” Castiel bites, but Dean can feel that it’s frustration above anything else. “I know and I want to do something, but if I go back and show my face, they’ll probably have me killed.”

Dean swallows, the thoughts of Cas getting hurt or killed dancing wickedly on his mind and he shakes them away. He desperately wants Castiel to prevail with justice, but Castiel’s self-preservation is rightly in place. He just has to choose between his own freedom and free will for the other reefs.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you've all had a good week! I've been stuck with a cold (but it's finally going wooo) 
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!
> 
> P.S. there's a new tag!!  nothing bad, but it's there

Anger and frustration rise in Castiel as a million thoughts bombard him. There’s not much he can do, certainly not in his weakened state, but he  _ will _ do something. He has to.

“Can we go back to Ellen’s now? I think I’d like to sleep.” It’s a half-truth: he is tired, though he’s not sure he could sleep.

Dean nods, and they turn back the way they came. Dean’s quiet and Castiel feels bad for making him feel guilty; the silence between them is no longer comfortable and the itch to hold Dean’s hand again is strong, but he doesn’t dare to do so. That had been new, wild and exhilarating beyond comparison. It was a shame that they’d met under such awful circumstances.

Merfolk of the Garrison Reef rarely ever mated with those from other reefs, not without there being some sort of concealed political agenda. This chemistry between Castiel and Dean - if they were to ever act on it - was almost certainly a threat to the Garrison and another reason Castiel could never show his face there again.. The Huntsmen aren’t involved in this war and it would be unfair to inadvertently drag Dean into it. He won’t risk the life of the one friend he has left, not when he’s already seen the consequences of the risks he’d taken before.

When they get back to Ellen’s, Dean kindly directs him back to the room he’d slept in before, letting him know he’ll be across the hall if Castiel needs him.

“Thank you, Dean.”

Dean disappears, shutting the door quietly behind him. Castiel strips out of the t-shirt and pants he’s been given and slips underneath the sheets, the cool sensation washing away the Californian sun.

Despite his earlier thinking that he wouldn’t be tired enough to sleep, Castiel curls up, legs tucked to his chest as he falls into a slumber barely seconds after his head hits the pillow. He’s woken a few hours later to a bowl of Ellen’s soup and a bread roll waiting for him and Dean sitting on the armchair in the corner of the room, reading.

“Ellen thinks by tomorrow you should be able to go back to the sea,” Dean says quietly and Castiel just nods a little. Well, he has to go back sometime.

He doesn’t feel ready, and part of him wishes his body didn’t heal so quickly. It’s been nearly two weeks, though, and he needs a plan.

“You can do more resting at my place, before you have to make any hard decisions,” Dean assures him, as if he’d read Castiel’s mind. “I’ll need to speak to my dad first, before that though. I should probably explain… this.”

Castiel raises his eyebrows. He’d been under the assumption that everyone knew about him, the strange merman Dean had rescued. He knows how much merfolk loved to gossip, and news travelled fast.

“How come he doesn’t know?”

“Ah… well.” Dean hesitates and Castiel rolls his eyes impatiently, though it’s clear that this isn’t easy for Dean. “He was on a hunt when I found you, the hunt I was also supposed to be on.”

“Dean… you risked your hunting pack to come and get me?” Castiel questions, trying to get things straight in his mind. The bowl of soup rests on his thighs and he can feel it slowly burning through the material. He doesn’t move it though, it feels warm against his legs.

“They’re capable of finishing a hunt without my help.”

“But they were expecting you.”

“Cas… I know. It was stupid and my dad’s gonna hand my ass to me when I get back. But I made the right choice. You can’t tell me otherwise. You said it yourself, you wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t come to get you. That counts for a whole lot more than an extra body on a hunt.”

The air stills between them for several moments, and then Dean looks up from where he’d been frowning at the floor. His eyes are green, glassy with the slight wetness of tears. Frustration, no doubt. It’s a common emotion that’s been flying around these past few days.

“I don’t regret it.” The words are quiet, but they ring in Castiel’s head like a whale’s echo through the night.

Castiel sighs, he hadn’t meant to anger Dean or frustrate him or cause him uncertainty, but all is said and done.

“I’m glad you came.” His voice is unexpectedly thick, and he can feel a lump in his throat and a sting behind his eyes - emotions that he’s unused to. Up on the surface everything is different, overwhelmingly so, and he bets all of his feelings are heightened by it.

Castiel shuffles uselessly on the edge of the bed. He feels like he needs to do something, his arms are aching for  _ something _ and he doesn’t know what.

He meets Dean’s eyes, tears cascading slowly down his cheeks unbidden. Dean’s eyes close slowly, and remain closed for a beat. Then, with a soundless sigh, he gets up, moving towards Castiel, and then Castiel finds he’s standing too. As Dean reaches touching distance, he throws his arms around him, pulling him in tight. This… this is what he needed. This touch. Dean’s touch.

They stand together, embraced, for longer than feels right. Castiel can’t seem to bring himself to let go. Their hands entwined on the beach had been the last time they’d touched like this and he  _ needed _ it. Months of no one, not a soul nor a fish had come close to him when he’d been trapped down in No Man’s Waters and now he has Dean – for the most part – in his arms and willing to touch him back.

“Cas? You okay?”

Castiel sniffs, then nods and finally pulls away from Dean. When he dares to look up again, he’s relieved to see that Dean’s expression is understanding, with a small smile playing on his lips.

“I think I’m okay. That was—”

“A lot?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I’m always here for a hug if you need one.” Castiel can tell he means it, which means a lot to him. More than he can say.

They head down to see Ellen, who’s working dutifully behind the bar. It’s busy and there are more people than Castiel ever wishes to meet. They all stand too close and are too loud and he dodges past everyone, keeping out of the way.

Ellen fusses over Castiel in her own way, setting down a large plate of bar food and a tall glass of water in front of him, as well as a glass containing a pale brown liquid which he eyes warily. Just as he reaches out for it, Dean’s hand comes to his wrist.

“You don’t have to drink it, if you don’t want to. It’s alcohol, one or two of those and you won’t be able to swim straight.” Dean’s voice seems to be full of fond memories and his hand disappears. Castiel still wants to try it, especially if it makes Dean look that happy.

It tastes vile, yet he manages sip after sip and eventually the taste disappears. The food Ellen gave him is good, filling and an interesting way to serve fish – with breadcrumbs and deep fried. Castiel’s head feels a little thick and slow when he’s finished, but he’s fine apart from that. Or so he thinks.

While he was eating, Dean had wandered across the room, and is bending over a table with a couple of other people surrounding him and laughing. When he sees Castiel looking, he waves him over and Castiel stands, swaying. As he takes a step forward, he promptly stumbles.

“Woah there, big boy.” Ellen’s right there beside him, holding him up until he finds his balance. “That beer really knocked you for six, maybe I should have given you a smaller glass.”

“I’m fine.”

“Uh-huh, you steady?”

“Yep,” Castiel nods and takes a step forward. Well if he can’t walk straight then so be it.

It’s a slow journey, a lot of grabbing the backs of chairs but eventually he makes it, leaning against one of the wooden supports to keep himself upright.

“Hey, you made it over,” Dean teases, and Castiel frowns at him, not a fan of being teased. Dean hands him a stick but he can barely stand without swaying so just uses it as a support. “You gonna play?”

Castiel shakes his head, leaning heavily on the stick.

“Alright, maybe we should get you to bed.”  He’s not sure if Dean is still teasing with him or not but his head is swimming, filled with water that’s swirling like a whirlpool.

“I would like that.” Dean takes the stick - a cue, apparently - from him, and lets Castiel lean on his shoulder instead. He waves to his friends and then they’re making their way back towards the bar. His glass of water is still there, so Dean swipes it for him while Ellen shakes her head with bemusement.

Dean bundles him into bed far easier than Castiel would like, forces him to drink the glass of water and then leaves him to sleep.

“Stay, please,” Castiel murmurs into the dark.

“I’m just across the hall if you need me,” Dean insists but Castiel just wants him here, needs him here.

“Feels like I’m trapped in a whirlpool, can’t get out.”

A hiccough escapes him and he groans. It seems to convince Dean though and the merman pulls the armchair over, sitting next to Castiel’s bed.

“Thank you,” Castiel says and closes his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My username here may be changing in the near future to 'envydean' to match my tumblr account. I'm not 100% certain I wanna but also matchy-matchy is also good, but I've had hollyblue2 for over 10 years now on my fanfic accounts - so I'm still on the fence about it. 
> 
> I will try and make some kind of announcement prior to doing so though!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all again for your insightful comments! Sometimes you point things out even I didn't notice while writing and that really brings a great perspective to me!
> 
> This fic reached 1k hits! How exciting! :D

Dean waits until Castiel is fast asleep before rising from the armchair. As much as he wants to stay, to watch Cas’ face as he sleeps peacefully, he needs his own bed to sleep off the alcohol in his system.

He remembers the first beer Ellen had given him, he hadn't even made it halfway across the room before nearly falling over and knocking into some chick. He’s just glad his tolerance is higher now he’s been to the surface enough.

One last look back at Castiel’s sleeping form sprawled out on the bed and Dean leaves, leaving the door ajar so as not to disturb him with the click of the latch.

His own bed feels cold and lonely but he needs to suck it up. It’s not like he can crawl in beside Cas, that would be  _ weird _ .

Dean wakes up with a nagging headache and something warm pressed into his side. He looks down to a shock of dark hair. Huh. He definitely didn’t go to sleep with Cas, he left him drunk in his own bed before returning to his own, which means that Cas managed to creep in during the night. Dean is amazed he didn’t wake up. But he doesn’t move, unwilling to wake Cas up if he’s sleeping off a headache himself. Instead, Dean just pulls the sheets back over them both and goes back to sleep.

When he next opens his eyes, Cas has gone and the space beside him is cold. Disappointment courses through Dean, but he tries to remember that Cas’ coming in was probably due to a nightmare and nothing more. With a sigh, he rolls over, notes the time and gets up. He and Cas should probably get going sooner or later.

He’s not looking forward to explaining all of this to his dad, and he wasn’t lying to Cas when he said his dad would hand his ass to him. Dean can only hope his dad will understand. He knows about the war that’s going on, being one of the merfolk on the Huntsmen Council, so there’s a chance he’ll go easy.

Dean knocks on Cas’ door and gets a groan in response. Maybe they need a little more recovery time before they can leave. Dean shrugs his shoulder to himself, that’s not such a bad thing.

“C’mon Cas, we gotta head out soon. If you have a headache, I’ll grab you some water and an aspirin.”

“Deaaaan.” Dean rolls his eyes with a smirk and opens the door. Cas is sat on the end of his bed with his head in his hands.

“Oh dear,” he teases. “You’re a sorry state,”

“What is  _ in _ that alcohol?”

Dean shrugs. “Dunno man, the human’s like it and they have a good time. Merfolk ain’t exactly used to drinking the stuff. We’re prone to worse effects the morning after.”

“You  _ knew _ this?”

“Uh… yeah? I’ve been drinking here for years, Cas,”

Cas doesn’t seem placated by that answer but he doesn’t retaliate anymore and stands up slowly, following Dean out the room when he heads into Ellen’s kitchen.

Ellen’s stood over a frying pan of bacon when they get there. Dean’s mouth waters. “Bacon! Oh Cas you gotta try this!” h

His excitement doesn’t translate though, and so Dean just grabs Cas a glass of water and picks the aspirin from the cupboard.

“Just give him a half one, or he’ll be all woozy for when you go back,” Ellen says.  Dean breaks one in half, passing them to Cas who looks at them with confusion.

“Put the tablet in your mouth and then swallow some water with it.” He explains. He’s been to the surface so many times that there’s things he does that he takes for granted and forgets that other merfolk won’t know how. He watches carefully as Castiel swallows the pill with some difficulty, screwing up his face. The bob of his throat is distracting and he only realises he’s been staring too long when Castiel is holding out the glass to him and Ellen is serving up the bacon sandwiches.

“Y’alright there, boy?”

“Uh-huh.” Dean snaps out of his haze and sits down at the table, taking a bite of the sandwich before any more questions can be thrown his way.

“You sleep alright, Cas?” Dean asks, looking towards Cas who doesn’t seem to react to the question.

“I think so, I had a headache most of the night,”

“It’ll get better and as soon as we’re in the water you may find it easier to filter out the alcohol from your system.”

Castiel nods but doesn’t say anything further, nibbling at his sandwich. It seems to take a while but they finish eventually, and then Dean takes Castiel upstairs to grab a couple of things before they go.

Dean hugs Ellen tight before they leave, her warmth feeling like power surging through his body. She’s as much of a mother figure to him as Missouri has been, at least since his own mom died when he was young, and he’s more than glad for them both.

“Thank you for the help, and hospitality,” Castiel says formally, nodding his head, but Ellen draws him in easily for a hug.

“Ya ain’t getting away that easily. Now, you both swim safely, and know that you, Cas, can come back anytime you wish. That shed’s always stocked and open.”

“That’s very kind of you, Ellen.”

Dean has a feeling Cas won’t ever use that shed, or come up to the surface again, not once he’s integrated back to his reef again. Once Cas goes, Dean’s sure he’s going to miss him. Not that he’ll ever let it on because he’s Dean and he doesn’t do  _ that _ .

“C’mon, the walk to the beach will clear your head. Race ya!” Dean calls, halfway across the parking lot.

“No,” Castiel grumbles back, walking steadily after him with his eyes squinted against the sunlight.

It’s a long walk with a grumpy, headachy Cas, but they finally reach the shore and Castiel seems to relax. He toes off the shoes he borrowed and then begins to strip off his shirt.

“Hey, we’ll go put all our stuff in the shed,” Dean says and Castiel is still quiet. Dean thinks he may be nervous now which he can understand, what Cas should and needs to do isn’t small. He has to go up against his entire council which could either land him rotting at the bottom of the ocean again - or even worse, dead.

Castiel undresses slowly once they’re inside but seems more comfortable once he’s no longer wearing anything and Dean watches as the man looks out at the sea longingly.

“Just gotta remember to breathe out when you go back under, relax and let your gills take over.”

“Okay.”

Dean sighs, giving up speaking to him if he’s not going to get a decent response from him. Sand filters between his toes and then feels firmer as the tideline draws near, washing water over his feet. Dean breathes in deep, the smell of the ocean filling his nose and lungs. He loves being up here, it’s different, and there’s so much to feel and smell and breathe.

Underwater suddenly feels limited despite its paradise of reefs and ocean floors to bask in.

“You ready?” Dean asks.  

Without replying, Castiel begins to walk into the water, first up to his knees and then his thighs. He tries his best to keep his sight above his waist but it’s hard. Maybe Castiel doesn’t remember the night, or is choosing not to bring it up, but Dean had felt something more than just two merfolk needing the comfort. Though he would understand if that’s all it was to Castiel.

Castiel dives into the water and Dean’s left standing alone, the ocean waves rippling up his thighs before it disperses again.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Serenity for betaing! :D 
> 
> I hope everyone has had a good week! 
> 
> For those doing camp nano: keep going, you've got this! ♥

Castiel takes a deep breath, hoping it’ll settle his mind against the worry that’s gripping him tight, then lets it out. Nothing changes. The worry is still there, the weight on his shoulders hasn’t got any lighter and he can feel it as he dives into the waves and under the surface. His gills don’t work straight away and the fight to breathe and trying to shake off the anxiety of going back to his home is making him choke and sink to the ocean floor. He can’t even call it  _ home _ anymore – there’s nothing left for him there now.

“Cas!” A hand grabs his arm and he jerks away, eyes flashing open. “You gotta calm and breathe.” Dean’s right in front of him, now holding onto both of his upper arms tightly. Castiel focuses his eyes and keeps them tracked on Dean’s grey-green tail swishing back and forth, keeping both of them steady.

Beneath them, Castiel notices he has his tail back and… and he can breathe.

“That’s it, you got it.” Dean’s voice is calm and clear in his head and Castiel can focus on that. He meets Dean’s eyes, soft and understanding. His gaze flicks down to Dean’s mouth where he’s smiling with encouragement and then back up.

“Thank you.”

“Takes a bit of getting used to. Perhaps it would have been best if we’d done that slower.” Dean claps him on the shoulder and then nods in the direction of what Castiel guesses is his home.

As they swim, Castiel’s chest feels tight, his gills feeling like they’re catching and not giving him enough air. He slows, trying to set his mind straight. He has time, he doesn’t have to do anything straight away, and Dean is going to give him somewhere to stay for a while.

Dean’s here - more of a lifeline for him than Castiel wants to admit to - but he’s here and he cares and Castiel can’t ask him to understand, but he seems to anyway. Castiel isn’t guilty of his crimes, but he was ostracised for war crimes, not something as basic as petty theft. He could have lied to Dean about his story, about his banishment.

There’s a sharp bump to his hip, and Castiel turns to see Dean grinning, tail swishing excitedly. His troubles melt away almost instantly. Poseidon knows, it’s both a relief and a crutch he doesn’t need or deserve. The thoughts will be back later, Castiel knows, but for now Dean’s playing with him and that’s something Castiel hasn’t done since he was a fingerling.

“Race you?” Dean asks, raising his brow. Castiel heart beats faster, this time not from worry but with excitement for a challenge. This is what he’d been trained for, getting to a target as quick as possible.

Castiel takes a breath, eyeing up the open ocean ahead of him, he’s not sure which direction they need to go but he’s sure Dean will correct him. He can’t help the small smile that appears on his lips, and he’s not going to give Dean a chance to win.

“Okay,” he agrees quickly and thrusts his tail down hard to gain easy momentum and leaves Dean in his bubbles – or so he assumes. When he looks to his left, Dean’s right there, grinning as he easily keeps up.

“You thought you were fast?” Dean says, laughter in his voice, and then Dean beats his own tail harder and faster, and swerves towards him.

Castiel barely has chance to dodge, but he swims upwards just enough for Dean to careen under him and that gives Castiel time to swim ahead just a little.

Most of the way, they’re neck-and-neck, and they keep trying to put each other off course, but both of them are as quick and agile as the other. Castiel feels alive, more than he’s felt in a long time. He and Gabriel and Hannah used to race as children all the time. Well, Gabriel did a lot of chasing, and Castiel and Hannah did a lot of swimming away. All of it had been training for him, but it had still been fun.

For a brief moment, guilt clouds over him and his pace slows. Dean races ahead having not realised he’d stopped, hanging in the water. He closes his eyes tight, feeling emotion swell up. He’ll see Gabriel again, he’s sure of it.

When Castiel opens his eyes again, he expects to be alone, with Dean a mere dot in the distance. But Dean is right there, looking at him with concern.

“You alright there, buddy?” He asks softly, and Castiel steels his expression quickly until Dean’s hands find his own, stroking over the backs of them carefully. Castiel’s resolve fades as quickly as he righted it, and the overwhelming need for Dean engulfs him. Moving in, Castiel embraces him tightly.

“What’s got you all worked up?”

“Thank you,” Castiel mumbles into his neck. He can feel Dean’s gills working softly beneath his cheek, and the rhythm calms his own breathing.

“Yeah, no problem. What for?”

“Everything. Just, everything.” He squeezes Dean tighter before pulling away, trying to school his expression a little. “Let’s keep going, I’ll be fine.”

Dean looks like he wants to press but thankfully he doesn’t, and they set off at a much gentler pace. The bubbles behind them join and rise to the surface, matching the bubbles in Cas’ stomach. They’re a cocktail of anticipation and nervousness... and something for Dean too – so much for Dean.

From a distance, Dean’s reef is a dark spot in the distance. It’s far enough from the surface not to receive too much sun, and Castiel can see how the Huntsmen prefer to build into the coral rather than on it.

“We like to bunker, it keeps us safe, and we can protect ourselves from those we’re supposed to be hunting,” Dean explains as they near. Castiel nods, understanding.

It looks… nice. Cosy and belonging, and a far stretch from what his own reef looked like. Castiel never had chance to see Dean’s reef the last time, between unconsciousness and injury. For that reason, he takes a few moments as they pass the council house, and then to Dean’s home, which apparently isn’t far from the central council base.

Dean pushes through a net of shells and Castiel follows him through, down a dark tunnel until he sees light. It’s not like anything he’s seen before though, these are manmade and curiosity has him reaching out to touch one.

“Old diving lights we’ve found,” Castiel jerks his hand back as Dean speaks, feeling like he shouldn’t be touching. Dean gestures for him to go ahead though, and Castiel resumes his curiosity. He picks it up, shining the light around the room before pointing at his own face, belatedly realising that it was a bad idea.

“Ow.”

“Yeah, they’re bright,” Dean says, as if Castiel should have known that. He huffs. Dean takes the light from him and sets it back in the holder it came from, while Castiel wonders where it came from. Dean and the other Huntsmen must go to the surface to find these.

“How do they work?”

“Batteries, we get them from the surface every couple of weeks. We don’t have them on that much, only when we’re here for a while. Huntsmen generally have good echolocation senses for the darkness.”

Castiel nods along. He’s amazed at how different Dean and the rest of his reef are, not just in how they live and their experiences - but their biology too. He never knew that Huntsmen had better echolocation than other merfolk.

“C’mon, I’ll take you to the main room, and then I need to speak with my dad,” Dean says, and Castiel can sense a nervousness from him in the way his shoulders drop and his tail twitches. He remembers Dean telling him about abandoning the hunt. He can only hope that Dean’s father is forgiving.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is up so late, the sun has been out and I've been busy decorating my kitchen :) 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy this update!

Dean lets Castiel rest in the main room before he goes to find his dad. If John’s not here in their house, then he must be at the Council house in a meeting. Part of Dean knows not to bother him there, but also he needs to tell John he’s back. Maybe some witnesses will mean that he’ll actually survive long enough to get back to Castiel. He certainly doesn’t want to fight with his dad in front of Cas.

He pokes his head back into where Cas has made himself at home on one of the rocks, and smiles at him. Castiel’s blue eyes light up with the diving light right next to him and he looks stunning.

“I’ll be back shortly, hopefully this won’t take too long.”

Castiel nods but doesn’t say anything to him. Dean turns to leave but there’s an urge in his heart to look back and say, “Your eyes look beautiful in the light.”

He leaves Castiel with that and maybe he shouldn’t have dropped that bombshell on him, but he told him and that was hard enough in itself.

On the way, Dean nearly bumps into Missouri.

“Watch out, boy!” She says, grabbing his arm. Dean swings round, tail stuttering in the water to rebalance himself.

“Sorry. Is my dad in the council house?”

Missouri tuts. “Nice to see you back, too, I’m doing good.”

Deans mouth falls open, he’s being rude, he knows. He hasn’t spoken to his dad in a week, so he can wait a few extra minutes to speak to Missouri. He swims in for a hug, ignoring the eyebrow she’s giving him.

“How’ve you been?”

“I’ve been better, had your father demanding where you’ve been for days on end. Told him you were on the surface but didn’t tell him about that boy o’ yours. He still around?”

Dean fights a smile just thinking about Cas, and nods. “He’s back at my place while I talk to my dad, don’t want him to see that argument.” Missouri hums but doesn’t say anything.

“Nice having you back, hope that Ellen treated you good,”

“Of course, she took a shine to Cas too.” This time Dean can’t help but grin.

“Seems you did too,” she says and Dean nearly chokes, his gills working out of time.

“He’s a good guy,” Dean says, hoping it’s enough to keep her off his case. Even Dean doesn’t quite know what he wants with Cas. “I need to go and see my dad, I’ll be back. I hope.”

Dean finds his dad just clearing out from council business, it feels like there are piranhas nibbling at his insides but eventually Dean overcomes his nerves and goes to him.

“I see you’re back,” John says, and then turns his attention to Bobby who’s last to leave.

“Hey,” he says dumbly, and with the look John gives him he immediately regrets it.

“You left a hunt, Dean.”

“I’m sorry.” The piranhas work harder on his insides and Dean thinks being eaten alive is going to be less painful that this conversation.

Disappointment from John Winchester never fails to hurt.

“You’re sorry? Dean, you didn’t even tell us. Two of the pack got hurt out there. We found a nest, not just a lone vamp, we needed you.”

Dean goes cold inside, that was his worst nightmare.

“Where did you even go? Missouri said you went to the surface, what did you need up there that was more important than the hunt, Dean?”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know, Dean. I want answers from you!”

“No Man’s Waters,” Dean whispers. Fuck, he’s so ashamed of himself, and the guilt is bubbling up.

“What? There’s nothing there—”

“There was... one of the Garrison was trapped down there. I got him free, but he wasn’t gonna make it, so I took him to see Ellen on the surface. He came round and got better and now we’re back and here I am.”

“ _ We’re  _ back?” John asks, brow raised.

“Cas is in the house.”

“Dean!” John comes within inches of Dean’s face, but Dean resists moving and looks straight at his father. “There is a war going on, the Garrison Territory are trying to take over reefs and they’re ruthless.”

“I know,” Dean’s about to explain, when John cuts him off with a scowl.

“And yet you brought one back here, to what, spy on us?”

“Cas isn’t like that.”

“Oh, he’s not?”

“No, he was ostracised for rebelling  _ against _ the war, he wants no part of it,” he says, hoping his dad understands.

For a moment, John is quiet, the frown still etched on his face but then his expression softens a little, turning to worry.

“Do they know he’s here?”

“No? They think he’s dead. They left him to rot in No Man’s Waters chained up to the dark reef.”

“Good. We can’t afford for The Garrison to wage war on us here. We have enough power here to hold our ground and keep us safe, but if they find out we have one of their soldiers, there’s no telling what they’ll try and do.”

“How long have you known about this war?” Dean asks, trying not to sound accusing. Council business is council business, only the most important information gets passed down to the rest of the Huntsmen.

“A while, we had a few talks with the Garrison a while back. They weren’t happy with what we wanted but they seemed sated enough not to come after our reef.”

“How could you not tell us that?” Dean grouses, bowing his head and watching his tail flick back and forth, keeping him steady.

“Dean,” John warns and Dean looks back up. “We didn’t want to scare people. We have other things to worry about. We’ve had rises in nests of monsters recently, and  _ that’s _ been the top of our list. We’re safe. If the Garrison haven’t already struck now after the assembly then we can’t see them striking now. We’ve had eyes on them for years, we know what they’re like.”

“Eyes?”

“Dean—” John grumbles, pressing his hand to his forehead. “Can we get back home? Maybe we can speak to this ‘Cas’ too, about everything. You trust him?”

“Yes.” The answer is simple and John nods, floating off slowly, as if wanting to make sure Dean was going to follow.

Dean leads the way then, telling his father that he wants to warn Castiel about his impending arrival, so John didn’t startle him.

Back in the bunker, Dean goes down the main passage to where Castiel is sitting patiently, under one of the diving lights.

“Hello, Dean,” he greets and swims towards him slowly with a small smile. Dean turns behind him to where his father is and he feels Castiel swim back.

“Cas, this is my father, John. He’s a member of the Huntsmen Council.”

When Dean glances back to Castiel, he moves from the shadows a little and pleasantly holds a hand out towards John. They grip one another’s wrists and then they twist slowly until John’s arm is on top. Trust. Dean’s relieved, his father is often untrusting of new people, especially with what Dean found out earlier.

“May we talk?” John asks and Castiel nods. “We’ve known about the Garrison war for a long while, your own council addressed us with a treaty of sorts - which we denied and negotiated. You should be safe here for now, should you need somewhere to stay. My son is clearly taking good care of you.”

“Yes, Dean has been… friendly.” Dean doesn’t miss the tiny smile that Castiel throws towards him.

“That’s good,” John smiles at him and Dean feels the warmth spread through him. His father seldom praises him; it’s been just the two of them ever since his brother travelled for bigger waters. It has been hard on the both of them. 

John grows sober and his gaze is intense. "Tell me, Castiel... what do you know of Benny Lafitte?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your continued support! I'm super excited to be so close to 100 kudos! *squeeee*
> 
> Thank you again for helping to tidy up the mess Serenity! ♥

Dean looks up in shock. That’s a name he hasn’t heard since his childhood, his best friend who went missing one night and never came back.

Castiel’s eyes narrow in confusion. “I know of him.”

“Dad?” Dean’s voice is quiet and the energy in the small, barely lit space is thick. John is nothing like Castiel expected. He expected wrath, hatred and a fight, but this man is understanding and maybe it’s because of whatever Dean had told him before they got here, but it’s a relief.

“Dean, bud, just—” John’s eyes close tight before he opens them again. “Please understand,” he says and Castiel realises that there’s something more going on here.

To him, Benjamin, is a loyal soldier, one who stood by his side until he was tried for dissent. He knows that The Garrison isn’t his original home, and that he’d come to them as a young boy, lost.

“He’s a Huntsman, isn’t he?” Castiel asks to confirm what he’s pieced together.

“Yes.”

“Dad?” The desperation in Dean’s voice is killing him, but Castiel needs to ignore it in order to keep a level head.

“We sent him, years ago when the unrest was beginning to form, he agreed and understood what was being asked of him.”

Castiel doesn’t want to believe it, they sent a  _ child _ to spy on them. He understands the necessity, and Benjamin had stuck by his side ever since he’d arrived, training with him and then fighting with him. Castiel is grateful to have been able to be his friend.

“I understand.”

“I don’t! Dad, how could you do that to Benny?” Dean swims between him and John, halting the conversation. “He was my best friend.”

Castiel can do nothing but watch as John’s chest hitches and he draws Dean in, kissing the top of his head. “I’m sorry, kid.” With those soft words, Dean fights against John and pulls away, swimming off into the tunnel that leads out.

Castiel makes as if to follow, but John shakes his head. “Leave him, he’ll come back.”

“He’s upset,” Castiel states, like that’s the answer to everything.

“We still need to talk.”

They do. They talk for a long time. Castiel is distracted, one eye on the tunnel the entire time waiting for Dean to appear, but he never does.

“I still want to take them down, stop the war.” Castiel explains.

“How are you going to get back in? They think you’re dead.”

“I was hoping for a little help,” he says carefully. He doesn’t want to ask too much of John. Dean and John, both, have been kind to him, too kind.

“I don’t know how many resources we can spare, but if this stops the war, then I can gather the council for a meeting tomorrow and see what we can do to help.”

“Innocents are dying at the hands of the Garrison - innocents that have previously been promised peace by larger reefs. Treaties that have been in place for centuries broken in an instant.” He’s not trying to guilt John into helping, but Castiel needs him to know that the position the Huntsmen have against the Garrison is imperative to ending this war.

“I’ll call a meeting, it’s all I can do.”

“Thank you.”

A silence falls between them that’s charged with a hope that Castiel needs to hold on to. John lingers for a short while before swimming to the tunnel.

“Dean’s probably at the edge of the reef if you wanted to find him,” he says, and Castiel feels his heart skip a little. He should find Dean.

“I will.”

“Benny’s still alive, right?”

“Of course.”

“Tell him that.” John departs then, leaving Castiel in the small living space. One of the diving lights flickers dramatically, but comes back on, holding its light. Castiel picks it up, finding the switch to turn it off. The space plunges into darkness but Castiel leaves soon after, heading back out into the natural light of the ocean.

After some searching and asking for help from a woman he somehow vaguely recognises, Castiel finds Dean hiding behind some coral. He blends in well here, the green in his tail camouflaged against the seaweeds. He has his arms wrapped around his tail and he eyes are fixated on the open ocean.

“Hello, Dean.”

Dean doesn’t look at him, so Castiel parts some of the seaweed and sits beside him.

“He’s been missing for twelve years,” Dean says, voice thick. Castiel’s heart hurts just hearing him.

“Benny’s been fighting beside me,” Castiel explains in response, hoping to pull Dean from his thoughts. “He’s one of the best soldiers I’ve ever seen.”

That gets Dean to look at him and he has a wobbly half smile on his lips. Tentatively, Castiel reaches an arm around Dean and pulls him in. Dean goes more willingly that he expected.

“So, you and my dad talked about everything?” He asks quietly.

“He’s meeting with the council tomorrow, he said he thinks they’ll agree to help stop the war. Understandably, your people don’t want to get involved, you have treaties in place to protect you. But I need to do  _ something _ .”

“Whatever that something is, know I’ll be there, okay?” Dean’s hand unwraps from his tail and comes to hold his, fingers entwining together. Castiel can feel Dean’s thumb stroking against the back of his knuckles.

“You mean it?” Castiel asks, he shouldn’t doubt him, Dean left a hunt to come and save him and nursed him back to health, and they’ve built up a relationship with one another that’s close and personal.

“I mean it.” Dean smiles, then tilts his head towards Castiel, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Castiel’s mind flickers like the diver’s light had done and comes back feeling brighter than ever. A blush rises high on his cheeks, he can feel the heat of it as he ducks his head. “We should go back, it’s getting late and we should be ready for whatever happens tomorrow.”

Dean swims up, and back over the reef without even looking back. It takes a few moments for Castiel to get up and follow, his mind still reeling from the lips against his cheek. Eventually he gets back to Dean’s bunker, and Dean and John are already speaking quietly to one another in the main living space.

“You should both get some sleep,” John says when Castiel swims through the doorway.

Dean nods towards an entryway off the main living space and Castiel makes to follow, only to be stopped by John. Castiel’s heart stops.

“Whatever happens, you keep him safe, you hear?” John’s voice is low and threatening and Castiel nods.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Sleep well.” John’s words rattle through his mind and even when he gets to Dean’s room, he can’t shift them. Dean’s already curled up in one corner but his eyes are open, inviting him over. Perhaps he should sleep in the other corner away from Dean. The last thing he wants is John’s wrath upon him.

“You can come sleep here, you know. I already know you came and slept on my bed at Ellen’s.” Castiel stops, cheeks heating. He didn't think Dean had noticed, and now he feels ashamed for taking advantage of him. At the time, he'd just needed the closeness. "I didn't mind, I promise," Dean adds as if he knows Cas is wary. It reassures him though, and he swims forward slowly. 

Dean reaches out an arm towards him, pulling him in and wrapping his body around him. It feels nice like this, to be held gently and warmly, and it suddenly feels like nothing else matters. Dean's hand is on his chest, thumb soothing over his sternum, and that alone is enough for him to fall asleep. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to Serenity for being a wonderful beta ♥
> 
> We're turning towards the end now, which I'm sad to sea (heh) but for my first ever WIP, this has been a lot of fun (and hella nerve-wracking omg)

Waking up with Castiel in his arms is just what Dean needs, the body curled up against him is warm and Castiel's breathing is a soft pulse. Dean presses his forehead to the back of Castiel's neck and watches silently as his gills flutter open and close. He wishes he could sleep for longer but he knows that they've got a busy day ahead of them. 

He has no idea what's going to happen. The worst is that their Council will veto any involvement in the Garrison war, and the two of them will have to work out a way to do it on their own. He's sure just Castiel turning up at the Garrison Council will be enough for them to startle and rethink, but that advantage won’t hold for long. 

Castiel stirs slowly, squirming a little, but Dean holds onto him, slipping a hand into Castiel’s. 

"Morning," he whispers.

"No."

Dean resists a chuckle and nuzzles his nose into the space behind Castiel's ear. He wants to kiss him, but the peck he received last night is a far cry from kissing him properly. Anything more needs to wait until the stress of the war is beyond them, whether they win or not. Dean can hold back, he has to for Castiel, who needs his full attention on what is going on. 

"Cas, you gotta wake up. My dad's probably already at the Council."

Dean moves first, encouraging Castiel to get up too. In the centre of the room he stretches out, back cracking. With a little playfulness, he stretches his tail over to Castiel and swipes the corner of the fin over his nose.

In response, Castiel's nose scrunches up and he blinks awake, scrubbing a hand over his face. "Dean…" Castiel grumbles.

"Wake up, sunshine." 

"I'm awake, I think. It's so dark," he complains. Dean reaches into the corner of the room and turns on the diver's light. "Too bright!" 

Dean laughs, his eyes adjusting quickly to the change in light, but Castiel obviously takes longer.

"Come on, we should head over to the council house, we can get some breakfast from Missouri on the way," Dean beckons Castiel towards the doorway and they exit together, Castiel still drowsy from being woken abruptly.

Outside, Dean can see that the sun is just beginning to come through the surface, the water still cool deeper down. Missouri's bunker is on the way and they find her perching outside looking pensive.

"Morning, Missouri," Dean greets, trying to sound cheerful. 

"You boys want some breakfast?" 

"That would be lovely," Castiel says.

Missouri serves them up more food than either of them need, but they eat as much as they can, Dean from a nervous hunger and he's sure Castiel is eating more than usual out of politeness. 

"Thank you, Missouri. Both for this and for helping me out before," Castiel smiles, and even though it's not directed at him, Dean's insides turn to jelly. 

Dean watches Castiel still as Missouri approaches, clearly unsure of her actions. He goes lax when she puts her hand under his chin and smiles softly at him. Dean's been lucky enough to have been on the receiving end of Missouri's affection many a time and he feels warm and fuzzy for Castiel. 

"You're welcome, boy. Now you and Dean best get goin', saving the reef and all," she says and pats Castiel on the shoulder. "C'mere, Dean."

Dean swims over to her, shoulder-to-shoulder with Castiel, and receives the same treatment. "You look after each other, I don't wanna hear of anything bad happening to either of you."

"No worries, Missouri."

"I can't not worry about you."

"We'll be fine," Castiel promises, and then he turns to Dean and smiles. It sets him back several moments, and he wants to bask in the look on Castiel’s face in this very moment for a long time. 

There's a tug on his arm and Castiel is pulling him away. He goes easily, waving goodbye to Missouri. 

 

The council house is alive with activity. Everyone sat on their respective chairs with John sat clearly at the head. 

"He's your head council member?" Castiel whispers sharply as they both enter the room.

Dean nods slowly, perhaps he’d left  _ that _ bit of information out. "Yeah, passed down from his own father. There was disruption briefly when they found out that my mom was human, but that's in the dust now."

That seems to sate Castiel, and as they move towards two free seats, Dean doesn't miss how close Castiel is to him. Their shoulders bump and they almost stumble on one another's tails. 

"No matter how this turns out, I'm going back to my old home to figure this out. If I have to fight for the other reefs I will." Castiel's voice is low in Dean's ear and the thoughts of Castiel, weapons in hand, sends shivers through his body. It both scares Dean and makes his feelings for Cas exacerbate, and his mind is a wreck as the meeting commences. 

John's a firm talker, Dean realises, as the agenda is laid out. Someone pipes up about the truce they already have with the Garrison and someone else asks why the other reefs even have anything to do with them. John quickly shoots them down and they're quiet the rest of the meeting. 

After what feels like hours of discussion, John raises an equitable vote, but ultimately, and unfortunately they come to a conclusion that there's nothing that the Huntsmen can safely do to help Castiel and his cause. Dean's disheartened but Castiel's hand is on his forearm, stroking against the skin there. 

"I'm sorry, Cas." 

"It's okay, I'll find a way."

Castiel is quiet for the rest of the day and Dean doesn't know if he needs to be worried.

"Are you okay?" He asks when they stop for a few moments. Dean puts his hand on Cas' arm, turning the merman to face him. Castiel doesn't meet his eyes but he looks worn out.

"There's just a lot to process, and I'm still trying to think about everything your father said to me."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No, I just… maybe we could see Missouri and go back to your room. I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, of course." Cas is far from recovered from his time chained up in No Man's Waters, but the past few days have been overwhelming and a lot to take it. It's no surprise that Cas tires easily. 

Dean feels amped, muscles buzzing with a need to get out and  _ do _ something, instead of all the thinking that's going on. He knows, though, that he needs to stay at Castiel's pace. The merman is a soldier underneath everything, and a well respected, highly ranked one at that. He remembers Cas telling him about the squad he'd led, one of those members being Benny. 

Dean sighs, they enter back into Dean's living space and Castiel makes a beeline for the bedroom. 

"I'll be there in a sec," Dean says, switching one of the diver's lights on and flooding the room with brightness. He doesn't miss how the light bounces off Castiel's scales.

"Okay," Castiel says and disappears into the darkness of Dean's room. 

Dean curls up in a corner away from the light, but watches at the beam dances and ripples in the slow flow of the water. The news about Benny is still weighing on his mind, and he should stop dwelling on it. After all these years he bets Benny doesn't even remember him. A lump crawls into his throat and he swallows harshly, trying to rid of it.His efforts are in vain as it remains until he has his breathing under control, and his shoulders have stopped trembling.

Switching the diver's light off and letting his eyes adjust easily to the darkness, he makes his way back to his room. Castiel is curled up on one side, already asleep. Dean goes to him, wrapping his body around him and letting the feel of Castiel in his arms settle him into what he hopes are pleasant dreams. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your continued support on this fic, it means a lot to me!
> 
> Any un-replied to comments I will be getting to as soon as I can :D 
> 
> Beta'd by the wonderful galaxystiel ♥♥

Castiel doesn't know what time it is when he wakes up, Dean's arms are loosely wrapped around his body and he remains still for a few moments. 

He has a plan, and he knows Dean won't like it, which is exactly the reason he's going to do it on his own. 

Having been a soldier for most of his life, the Garrison have practically taught him how to infiltrate his old reef. Castiel knows the place inside out, every hiding place, every position guards go to and from. He doubts anything has changed in the few weeks since he was sentenced. He knows he can probably still rely on his own unit when he gets there, Benny especially. He knows he'll need to be wary of a couple of people too - someone sold him out after all.

Castiel presses a kiss to Dean's shoulder before he worms his way out of the loose grip, thankfully without disturbing Dean. He swims out of the room slowly, trying not to disturb the flow of the water or swim into anything, his night vision isn't quite as good as Dean's after all. 

Making it back into the open waters, it's still gloomy, which means it's earlier than expected. He breathes in the cooler water in hopes of settling his nerves. It doesn't help, and he looks back at Dean's home, the entrance buried into the rock so any passing stranger wouldn’t stumble upon it unless they already know it's there. Castiel knows he wants Dean at his side for this, after everything that's happened, how much he's helped him over the past few weeks. It only feels right but he knows, for Dean's safety, that it's not possible. 

It's not that he thinks Dean's incapable, he's a Huntsman, one of the most fearsome merfolk reefs out there. They tackle that which kills and harms other merfolk all the time and Dean's been raised by one of the best. 

Castiel… he just can't bare to see harm come to Dean from his own actions. 

With that in mind, Castiel darts off over the Huntsman territory, skirting other house entrances and keeping to the main areas. He doesn't expect to be seen, not at this time in the morning, so when someone grabs his arm, it takes all of his wits not to call out. 

"Castiel." His name is a harsh whisper on someone else's lips and instead of fighting against the person who has him he turns to them. "It's John, Missouri's here too."

He wonders what this looks like to them. “I wasn't-”

“We know.” a sack is thrust into Cas’ hands and he takes it and John explains, “My to-go bag, food, supplies, few bits of hunting equipment, anything to help you with going back to the Garrison.”

“Come here, Castiel,” Missouri chimes and he floats closer to her where he’s pulled into a tight embrace. “Now, don’t you be doing anything stupid. I think Dean’d ‘preciate you back in one piece.”

“Of course, Missouri.”

What’s most unexpected is the clap on the shoulder he gets from John. “You do what you have to, but you come back. You hear?”

“I will, Councillor Winchester, I’ll do my best." With nothing left to say, Castiel nods at them both and carries on his way, the extra encouragement keeps him going. John Winchester has his back which means that whatever goes down at the Garrison Reef, he'll still have somewhere safe. 

As long as he makes it back alive.

As Castiel reaches No Man's Waters, an unpleasant shiver runs through him. Being with the Huntsmen had made him forget just how cold it is across here and he peers down below into the murky depths where the blackened reef looms. He remembers all too clearly being forced down here in the first place and he shuts it out of his mind. It won't do well to dwell on the past. He needs to focus on what he's doing now. 

The Garrison isn't far from No Man's Waters so he makes a short pit stop, opening up the bag John gave him and memorising what he's been given. He's not sure what's going to be useful, he doesn't even have a definite plan. What he does know is that he's going to aim for Gabriel's home, to both let him know that he's okay and to get an update on what's been happening. 

John had told him things had been usually quiet for the past couple of weeks and Castiel doesn't know if that's a good or a bad thing. He knows it's unlikely that Gabriel has been sat on his hands for the past few months, so getting to him and forming a concrete plan will be the first step. 

If his intelligence remains correct, he knows that going into the Garrison this early in the morning will be his best chance, there's a shift change of soldiers and where its been quiet, he hopes they're complacent enough to leave some of the more unlikely places uncovered.

Castiel exhales. This is  _ big _ and has a potential to go horribly wrong. If they catch him, there’s nothing stopping them from killing him on the spot. He doesn’t know what happens to those who’ve been banished and try to come back. Any sensible merfolk wouldn’t even try to go head on against an entire reef’s Council.

What if he’s being stupid? What if this isn’t a good plan and he should just go back, float back into Dean’s arms and just stay there and wait for whatever to happen to happen? Ignorance is bliss or something like that. Of course, Castiel had been a little bit rebellious in his own ways growing up, but he’s not a fingerling anymore, he a fully grown merman, a soldier, a player in this horrific war game, bent on power and greed. 

Perhaps this is the only way. He may not get his happy ending, but maybe many others will and  _ that’s _ what matters. Maybe this isn’t the time for he and Dean. Maybe in some other lifetime, things will be different.

A huge ball of hurt wells up inside Castiel and all he can do is swallow it down and push on through the water and towards the lowest part of the Garrison reef. The reef is built on a steep ledge in with an ancient and archaic hierarchy which has the council leaders highest and most protected at the top and the soldiers at the bottom. No one watches out for the soldiers, they can look after and defend themselves - or so it’s to be believed. It does mean that Castiel has a way in. Most are sleeping still, leaving the bottom of the reef easiest to access. 

He swims slowly through the taller pieces of coral, up and around the soldiers’ dwellings, and finds that he’s right, everyone is asleep.

“Castiel?” a voice hisses behind him and he turns quickly. A soldier, one with a greying beard and an ocean weary face, is behind him, mouth open in shock at his presence. He was one of those who stood with him after Castiel served under him for several years before rising through the ranks.

“Ishim.”

“How?”

“Please. Tell no one I’m here,” Castiel begs. He watches as Ishim ponders for a moment and as each second ticks past, the anxiety in Castiel’s gut tightens.

“You have my word.” 

Castiel nods politely then passes him by, carrying on his way to Gabriel’s home. His entire body is tense as he goes, in and out of merfolk homes. There are so many merfolk here, he’d never really noticed before. Yet now he can compare to Dean’s reef, he can feel how overcrowded it is. It’s both  surrounding and suffocating him. How did he even survive here before?

He hears low voices in the distance, the soundwaves finely rippling through the water and he stops, taking stock of everything around him. There’s a couple of dwellings to his left which he remembers snake up towards the top and he imagines the density of the homes here will be enough to cover him. 

As he moves, Castiel keeps an ear out for the watchkeepers but their voices fade out soon enough and finally -  _ finally  _ \- he reaches Gabriel’s house. Castiel’s head swims, reminding him of how he’d felt the other morning waking up with what Dean called a hangover. Going in, seeing Gabriel, is going to be the best and worst thing to happen. 

Gabriel's going to be so relieved to see him alive, that he might hold off killing him right away, but Castiel will simply be glad to see his brother again.

He swims through the kelp doorway, and sees his brother curled up in one corner, tail tucked as awkwardly as possible around him.

“Gabriel?” He calls quietly. 

Gabriel startles awake, eyes wide. “Cassie?”

“It’s me,” he responds and is suddenly engulfed by all of Gabriel, his tail looping around him and his arms tight against him.

“I knew you weren’t dead.” Gabriel sounds like he’s trying to remain strong, but there’s a catch in Gabriel’s voice that Castiel doesn’t miss.

“I’m okay, I promise.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all again for your lovely comments and to Serenity for being my beta ❤️🤗
> 
> I hope you all enjoy the chapter 😊

Dean wakes up and Castiel is nowhere to be found in his room. He frowns and goes to the main area where one of the lights is already on and John is awake.

“Hey, have you seen Cas?”

John looks up from what he’s doing, turning his attention to Dean. “He left early this morning,” he tells Dean.

Oh.  _ Oh _ . “He just left?” Dean feels cold inside. He told Castiel that he'd be by his side through all of this. He folds his arms over his chest and keeps his eyes on his father, this isn't defeat, it's not the end, he can stay strong for a bit longer. 

“He has supplies, equipment to keep him safe. He seems like a good merman, Dean. Willing to stand up for what’s right.”

“He just left?” Dean repeats, the strength he built up crumbling already. How could Cas just leave like that? They were in this together, at least, that’s what he’d thought.

“Dean…” John swims towards him. “He’s capable, I’m sure you know this.”

“Dad, I should have gone with him,” Dean says, and tries to battle his way out of John’s hold. 

“He doesn’t need you.” And fuck if those words don’t echo in his mind. Of course Cas needs him. “He needs you here, you understand?”

“Let me go!”

“No. I can’t let you run off into danger like that. He knew what he was doing, he knows his way around the Garrison, and he said he still has allies there that he can group with. Okay?”

“I’m a hunter,” Dean protests weakly. 

“I know that, you're a damn good one - when you turn up.” The jibe digs into Dean painfully but John's focused expression doesn't waver.

Dean stays silent. 

He doesn’t want to argue. He  _ wants _ to help Castiel, and surely there’s something he can do. If Castiel is already at the Garrison, perhaps he can meet him there. One more merman could mean the difference between winning and losing. 

He’s never been to the Garrison Reef, he’s heard plenty about it, both from Castiel and from his daily life, so whatever he does, he needs to do it carefully. The last thing he needs to do is fuck up. 

 

In the dead of night, Dean packs up and leaves for the Garrison. Just as he make to leave he comes face-to-face with his father and he knows right there and then that he’s done for.

“Do you love him?” John asks and Dean startles. It’s not what he expected to come from his father, especially when he was in the middle of sneaking away.

Dean stops, thinking about the question. He knows the answer. Dean’s known the answer for a little while. Whether or not he’s ready to say it out loud is another matter. Dean swallows, nodding slowly.

“Don’t you dare come back harmed or without Castiel, you hear?”

“Yes, sir,” Dean says back, keeping his voice steady. 

John pulls him into a tight hug and doesn’t let go for several moments. When they pull apart, John claps Dean on the back and Dean nods before swimming off.

The departure leaves a strange feeling within him but he pushes through, making his way towards No Man’s Waters and then beyond. 

He feels the water grow cold and then warm up again as he travels over No Man's Waters, he watches as the dark reef looms below him, eyes pinpointing where he first saw Cas. There's nothing there now, though he wasn't expecting there to be. 

The Garrison Reef is ahead of him, a small patch on the horizon and as he nears he can feel an itch of warning ripple through his scales. It's usually when he's about to face off with some kind of monster that he gets the same feeling and it concerns him. 

He doesn't know anything about this reef, not like Cas does. He wishes he had woken up with Castiel and begged to go with him. Maybe Castiel didn't trust him as much as Dean thought he did. Dean slows and shakes his head, he can't believe that. 

The best way into the Garrison isn't immediately obvious, Dean can see the shadows of guards patrolling the edges of the reef. He imagines it's covered from all sides but perhaps the way in from the bottom where it's darker is going to be easier.

It's not his first time infiltrating somewhere, but he's never been faced with an entire reef with soldiers as their primary inhabitant. Dean makes his way down slowly, keeping an eye out for movement of a guard who may have spotted him.

Dean dives down as far as he can go before swimming almost underneath the reef until he comes up to the edge. There's a large, burly merman a short distance away, and Dean wait for him to swim the other way before making his move. 

When he does, Dean makes a break for it, diving forward in a long dart to avoid moving the water too much. He hides behind the first overground bunker he gets to and takes slow easy breaths. He realises then that he doesn't have a clear destination. He remembers Castiel talking briefly about the set up of their Reef, how the council members stayed in homes near the top and the soldiers at the bottom. 

Castiel would have gone straight for Gabriel first, he guesses, and he knows Gabriel is a member of the lower council, which would put his home between the ones at the top and those belonging to the soldiers. He can make it. 

Dean pushes off from from bunker he's hiding behind to aim for the next one. 

He doesn't get far. 

Large hands wrap around his body, and crank his arms backwards. He doesn't shout out. He just needs to shake this one guard without causing alarm. 

Dean yanks his arm away, and goes to elbow the merman in the face. He misses, ending up being spun to face the guard. He doesn't get a chance to land another blow before there's a fist connecting with his jaw. 

His vision swims and darkness quickly grapples him, but not before he hears a voice. 

“Dean?” 

***

Dean wakes up, jaw aching like a bitch, and he groans. 

“Dean?” That's Cas’ voice, how is that possible. Unless… 

“Cas? They catch you too?” Dean sits up, hand massaging the bruise on his jaw. 

“Dean, it's okay. You're with me at Gabriel's home. You're safe.” Castiel's voice comes closer as he speaks.Dean feels familiar hands around him, touching his face. 

He blinks and lets Cas fall into focus. “Gonna be a bruise and a half,” Dean comments with a half-smile, only lasting until the bruise smarts. 

“What are you doing here?” Castiel asks. 

Dean's heart drops along with his smile. “I’m here to help you. Why would you try and do this alone? I told you I would be there, right by your side,” Dean says, trying to keep the sadness from his voice. “But you left anyway.”

“Dean, I had to. I didn't have a choice. This isn't safe for you. I know my way around here, if they caught me then I would possibly have to face the council. You're lucky it was Benny that got to you or you'd have been killed.”

“Benny?” Dean frowns. The voice right before he blacked out, that  _ was _ Benny.

“Right here, Chief.”

Dean looks to the door and sure enough, an older, firmer looking version of the Benny he knew from his childhood is hovering there. His tail is tainted with the greys of the Garrison people over the greens that the Huntsman tend to be born with. 

“‘pologies about the face. Didn't know who you were until you were basically unconscious. I don't think it'll cause too much lasting damage.” The wink Benny throws at him takes him back to their childhood banter. 

“It wouldn't, you still punch like a fingerling,” Dean jokes, and watches as he makes Benny crack a smile. Dean swims to Benny and holds out his arm for Benny to take but he's quickly pulled into an embrace. 

“Good to see you, brother.” Dean sighs happily. He's got his best friend back. 

Over Benny’s shoulder he sees another merman come into the room, settling next to Castiel with a small grin on his face. 

“Well isn't this a nice love fest. You must be Dean.” The man talking now has long golden hair and looks strikingly different to Castiel.

“You must be Gabriel.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh this is it! Apologies for it being a week late, I was at a convention last weekend and was busy making my cosplay. I did meet Misha Collins though (he's very lovely!) and also Sebastian Stan (also very lovely) :D
> 
> Beta'd by Serenity, thank you for all your hard work in making this fic readable! :D ♥

“That's my name, don't wear it out,” Gabriel teases and Dean rolls his eyes, looking back at Castiel. 

“The resemblance is uncanny,” Dean says to Castiel, sarcasm dripping off his words. 

“Please don't encourage him,” Castiel groans. Dean chuckles and despite the jibing, Castiel goes to him and pulls him into an embrace. The bruise on his jaw looks worse up close, the mottled black and blue stark against his skin. He swipes a thumb over it gently and Dean doesn't even wince. 

“Now that we're all acquainted - or reacquainted, I guess - it's time to get a move on.” Gabriel turns on his serious voice, the one Castiel has heard during the times he'd been privy to the conversations of the lower council. “There's a raid planned for later today, out on the Seven Reef. If we can stop that, at the very least we can get things rolling. Castiel, we need you up front.”

“What?” 

“You started this,” Gabriel reminds him. It's not accusational, just simply letting him know that his distinct rebellion meant that he should be the one at the forefront of the battle. 

“Okay,” he agrees, feeling proud suddenly. 

“While you were gone, Benny was busy spreading the word to the soldiers, while I nudged my views to the lower council. By trusting Joshua to nudge his way into the higher council gaining knowledge and insight a little at a time, and letting us know of any advantage we can get. As expected, there was only kickback from Naomi, Zachariah and Raphael, and they're the ones driving this thing.”

“So we shove them out,” Castiel speaks up suddenly, voice strong with a plan forming in his mind. 

“But they won't…”

“They will if we prove that we need to have a new leader in position, prove that their decisions are detrimental to the reef. How many people do you have on your side, Benny?” Castiel asks. This is their opening, they don't need to stage an all-out rebellion if they can go straight for the top. 

They need to think carefully, however. Pushing Naomi off the throne by force will put them in just as bad as a position as the predecessors. They need to be strategic, fair (almost), and above all keep the merfolk safe. 

“Nearly all the Garrison soldiers, only a couple have grumbled but I don't think they're fighting against us, I think they're just tired of fighting.”

“So, you're just gonna swim into a council meeting and cause riot enough that they demand a new election? That seems… simple.”  Dean's right, it is simple, but it’s also effective. It may just be the chance they need. 

They have surprise on their side. If the leaders don't realise just how many people reject this resource war and see Castiel, the merman they left for dead in No Man's Waters, alive and leading the rebellion? They'll have to step down in favour of a new set of leaders.

"Exactly. If there's to be a raid later on, then they'll be busy in meetings all day. I need to go in and stop it and then I need as many people as possible backing me up."

"Of course," Dean replies, swimming up to Castiel and hovering next to him. 

"Dean, you need to stay clear of the council. If they know you're here fighting our war, the treaty your people have in place will be voided."

"I can't sit by and do nothing-" 

"No, you need to be here for us. For me. I need you here to make sure this is a safe position for us to remain in. If things go south, we need a way out, all of us." Castiel turns to Dean, resting one hand in his upper arm, thumb idly stroking the skin. "The provisions they're building for the raid, I need them in here." 

Dean looks sceptical, but he nods. "Provisions. Got it."

"Thank you," Castiel says with a small smile. He returns his attention to Gabriel and Benny. "Gabriel, make sure the lower council has access to the meeting before this afternoon. Benny, get to everyone you can and give them a heads up that things are changing."

"You got it, brother." Benny takes his orders and leaves. 

Gabriel lingers behind. "You're a good leader," Gabriel tells him. Castiel isn’t new to being a leader, but to this amount of people, all he can do is his best. 

"I have to try."

"When we make it out of this, you've gotta take me to the surface and show me everything," Gabriel says excitedly. 

"If," Castiel reminds him quietly. 

"When," Gabriel disagrees with a proud smile. 

"When," Dean reiterates. 

"You both have too much belief in me," Castiel says and is quickly engulfed in an embrace by Gabriel. 

"Always believed in you, little bro." 

Gabriel really means it, he can see it in his eyes and Dean believes it too. A new kind of determination fills him, his muscles feel loose and ready for a fight. They've got this. He has to believe it too. 

"Let's do it." 

Castiel can hear murmurs of talking within the Council circle. He can imagine every which way this can go wrong, and the faith in himself is dissipating quicker and quicker. He shouldn't do this. This is going to ruin him and everyone he loves. 

If this goes wrong they'll all be punished, and with Castiel's escape from banishment there's no doubt his will be more extreme. There's nothing to stop Naomi ordering Castiel's death, and Zachariah or Raphael are sure to carry it out. 

But for the good of the merfolk of the Garrison, he has to do this, no matter the outcome. He won't know if he doesn't try. 

Castiel pushes through the door. 

The rumbling murmurs of talking ceases and all eyes turn to him. Several of the members eye him warily but aren't shocked to see him, Naomi, however, has her mouth agape, eyes fluttering in disbelief. 

"Castiel?" she questions and then her face darkens. "Soldiers! Get in here!" she hollers afterwards, as Castiel makes his way into the middle of the chair circle. 

Two soldiers who weren't involved in the original rebellion appear at his sides, but they don't grab him, they stand beside him. Castiel's heart hammers in his chest. This is good. Several more soldiers come to join them. 

"What is the meaning of this? Get him out of here."

"We refuse, Councilwoman Naomi." Castiel looks to his left to find Inias and Hester, they both pass him a subtle look to confirm that they're on his side. Neither of them seem like the people to be first to stand up, but here they are making the most important move. 

"This is out of line!" Naomi gets out of her seat and swims up to them menacingly. She has a face of thunder and her red hair seems even redder somehow. "Someone take these soldiers away. This is treason!" 

Castiel feels rather than sees more merfolk enter the room, standing with him stronger and stronger. 

The biggest change comes when Joshua comes over, standing between Castiel and Inias, and the lower council files into the room. 

"What do you have to say for yourself? You have disgraced this reef" 

"No! You have brought this reef down into  _ ruin _ by starting this needless resource war! Look at the reef! It's overcrowded and has broken nearly all longstanding negotiations with neighbouring reefs. You have done nothing, and we have put up with it for too long. Never once did you ask the people if this is what we wanted."

"I had no need to ask, I'm the leader here." Naomi's voice is cold and heartless, more proof that she doesn't care about the merfolk living here. 

"The Garrison has always thrived on democracy. It never changed until you became our leader," Gabriel says, speaking up from his position near the council chairs. Naomi turns towards him, Zachariah and Raphael making their way to seize him. Gabriel tactically moves away, swimming up higher above the chairs. 

Castiel doesn't miss his look for him to join him and he does, swimming quickly to join Gabriel. Some of the other council members on their side come to them too. 

"It seems we are in need of a vote. All those in favour of denouncing Naomi from her position alongside all those who follow her, speak up now." Gabriel’s voice rings out across the crowd, loud and clear.

The roar that goes around sends a shiver down Castiel's spine and he's in awe of the amount of merfolk he can hear who are on their side. It's amazing to hear it and feels him with confidence and pride. In the crowd he can hear the familiar sound of Dean cheering and of all the merfolk, he’s the loudest, and scans the crowd for him. Sure enough he's there in the middle, blending in in between everyone else. Despite it being clear that Dean didn't follow his instructions to stay hidden, Castiel is more than glad he's here to witness this as this is it, this is the end. 

Gabriel smiles over at Castiel and nods. They're both breathing hard. This was a hard feat and they’ve won. 

“Take the chair, Castiel.” Castiel looks at it, bare and empty in the circle of other chairs. 

It's not for him, though. He knows that in his heart that he no longer belongs here. His eyes cast over to Dean and he smiles at him and Dean grins back, proud. 

"No, the position is yours. I… I belong elsewhere now," he explains and beckons Dean over. "I belong with the Huntsmen if they'll take me." 

Castiel eyes Dean's expression up close to him and there's nothing but adoration there. Dean reaches for him and pulls him close, chest to chest. Then their lips are together, kissing hard, long and passionate. 

It's only when Benny clears his throat do they break apart and find almost the entire reef watching them. Castiel blushes but it doesn't stop Dean pressing another chaste kiss to his lips. 

Gabriel takes the chair. Naomi is being held by Benny and Ezekiel to one side, her face drawn into disgust and defeat as she struggles against the soldiers, cursing loudly. 

"Send them down to No Man's Waters," Gabriel decides first of all, looking around for everyone's agreement. Upon no objections, she, Raphael and Zachariah are hauled out of the room. Their shouts of dismay quickly quieting. "While they serve their endless time, we can stop the war right now. Give the merfolk their reefs back and help them out as much as we can." A roar of agreement surrounds them all. 

Castiel holds onto Dean's hand tightly. 

"C'mon, let's go," Dean whispers. 

"Home?" 

"Home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's been here from the beginning, from the middle and those who wait until things are complete before reading! :D I very much appreciate all your support!

**Author's Note:**

> [My writing Tumblr](http://envydeanwrites.tumblr.com) | [My Tumblr](http://envydean.tumblr.com)


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